I thought I'd post two photographs here of something I mentioned and find interesting. It is that on my recent purchase of a 5'6" spinning rod, the "casting lever portion," that is, the point from one's front grip on the rod . . . to the rod tip is only 2" or so shorter than my "other" short rod, a 6 footer.

So, as regards casting, as it relies on this part of the rod for leverage, it is actually almost as long as the other one in the photo, a 6 footer. The shorter rod is a moderate action; the latter 6 footer is a medium heavy action.

And, the other 4"? The 5'6" rod has a much shorter butt end as shown in the top photo. But, this makes it an excellent choice for finesse presentations from a kayak where it can be a problem or irritation if the rod butt end is swiping and running into your body.

The second photo shows the tip ends of where the two rods line up at the grip showing one 2" shorter. A bit fuzzy.

So, you don't lose much casting leverage, just 2" of functional length and the butt end is so short, no issues with it bumping the body. And, since the issue of reaching forward to clear the bow of a kayak is a factor, I'm only disadvantaged by 2" not a full 6".

Anyway, to the shorter grip casting rods, pistol grips and others, these short spinning rods ought to be really fun.

And, I'll post back how they work on the water.

Brad

I wish deckhand rods were more accessible. They dont have a reel seat, although im not sure about spinning reels on them. But the design is for you to locate the reel where it is most comfortable. Clamp and tie the reel on. It was made for saltwater guys but a freshwater version needs to be made.

Agreed, Christian. Since we hold spinning tackle the way we do, fingers on each side of the reel foot, our hand keeps it pretty secure, that is, the reel to the rod. A clamp ought to do the trick.

Oh! Maybe you ought to patent the idea of a "sliding reel seat!" That might actually be a neat idea.

*** I have gone out now a few times, just bank fishing with the short rod to get a feel for it. My initial impressions are that it is super accurate and very light. I'll get it out in the kayak very soon, try it out near boat houses, try casts underneath structures and more.

With its small circumference and short butt end, this is really very similar to a panfish rod, just with a much bigger rod blank. I like it a lot, so far, but I need to tie up with a 3 lbs. bass to see how it performs.

Brad

I've started learning how to use a skipping jig. It appears that your shorter rods may be very useful for that. Where did you find the short butt rods? I've checked Academy, Walmart, and online without success.

Breakaway tackle has a patent on a sliding reel seat. Fisherman seem to like it. I have a couple of deckhand rods that I made specifically for kayak fishing they are both wrapped with tuna cord

Bill, mine is a St. Croix spinning rod and I ordered it from FishUSA. The model number is: PS56MF. It weighs 2.7 ounces and is rated for 1/4 to 5/8s ounce lures and 6 to 12 lbs. test line. You can tell by the 5/8s high end of the lure range that it is no wimpy rod but one could fish most finesse presentation.

Gosh! I just got back . . . fished for awhile alongside two young men, one in a Predator, the other a Big Tuna. My new rod worked perfectly. It dials in accuracy to about the size of a dinner plate. I'll need to skip some docks . . . should have thought to do that but whenever I pulled up on those sites, I switched over to my 5'0" ultralight gear.

Oh! I caught a close to 2 lbs. bass on the Ultralight with the 2 lbs. braid. It bent over the UL rod a ton but everything held together and the fight took about 5 minutes. It was the fish AND about another pound or more of salad the bass wrapped itself in. That Nanobraid is unbelievable.

Brad

Rats! Too late again! It makes sense someone would have come up with the idea!

Brad

Sounds like you're describing a Tennessee handle. I had a 7' All Star rod with a Tennessee handle that was my favorite kayak rod. Sometime during a day of fishing on lake Nimrod I lost it in the lake, only rod I've ever lost.

Thanks Brad & Warhawk. Good info.

Well, I'm not sure I should call it a reel seat it's more like a hose clamp in a way. They call them coasters. When you build your rod forget the reel seat and wrap it in rubberized cork or tuna cord. I like tuna cord with flock shrink tube over that and it gives the reel clamp a good secure place to tighten up to. These are deckhand rods for saltwater. I haven't made a rod without a reel seat for freshwater yet

The new 5'6" spinning rod I took out yesterday has what St. Croix calls its Number 1 handle size; and, the 6 footer MH rod I have had for a few weeks has the Number 4 handle size. See the chart attached below.

Warhawk . . . it could be that this is a Tennessee handle, the short one.

After yesterday's experiment with the new short 5'6" rod, when I go out in the future, I'll carry the 5 ft ultralight with me at all times for panfish targeting (or just if the bass aren't biting), this new 5'6" rigged often with a 4" Keitech shad-like bait on a lightly weighted keel hook for nearer the surface/down a bit in the water column, then the 6 footer with the MH power rating for presentations fished on the bottom or punching through grass/mats. It is short and stout!

3 rods is plenty for me.

The accuracy of these shorter rods is really very high and so is the convenience using them in a kayak. If I were standing the majority of the time, fishing from a bank or a boat, I'd use 7/7+ footers.

Brad

[img]http://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/72a5b96d...mp;odnBg=FFFFFF[/img]

The Tennessee handle used to be very popular, don't see them much any more. They use two slip rings on a straight cork handle. Some don't even have that and you just tape the reel on. I use F-4 tape, which is another thing most folks probably don't know about. I put F-4 tape over the slip rings, makes for a very comfortable grip.

Excellent! The main thing is when seated in a kayak, assuming most of us fish seated most of the time, if you have a long butt end section of a rod, it can come into contact with your lap. Standing? It makes do difference except that, still, very few make Tarzan casts from a kayak since we are generally better able to approach and get close to our targets.

I inadvertently snagged a large bass on my 5'0" ultralight rod a couple of days ago, the bass and about 2 lbs. of salad it wrapped itself into. My 2 lbs. braid held like a champ and my rod was bent over more than imaginable. But, seated in my Propel 10, when the fish swam across my bow, I was able to extend my arm and pass the line around side-to-side successfully. I can't recall . . . I might have "reverse pedaled" a bit to just move back a bit. But, either way, I had no issues with a 5 footer, so the 5'6" rod will be just fine.

Accuracy? Whatever casting accuracy you have with a 7 footer, skills vary, you will be much more accurate with a shorter rod.

Show and tell time, soon, as some of us need to plan a meet up one week soon.

Brad